In an attempt to increase the production of some secondary metabolites in tissue cultures of Salvia officinalis compared to the intact plant, several experiments were carried out. Callus was induced and maintained on MS medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/l kinetin and 0.05 mg/l 2,4-D from leaf and stem explants. NaCl was added to the culture medium at concentrations 50 or 100 mM as a stress agent for elicitation.
Gas chromatography technique was used to identify and quantify the compounds. Results showed that α-pinene increased more than four folds in callus cultures initiated from leaf and grown on a medium containing 100mM NaCl compared with the same explant excised from the intact plant. The above mentioned medium also increased apigenin and linalool production more than three folds. Rutin increased up to 2.5 times in cell suspension cultures initiated form stem explants. Other compounds such as geraniol, quercetin and coumarin increased at different ratios using tissue culture systems. Alkaloids and steroids were not detected neither in intact plant nor tissue cultures. Water and ethanolic extracts produced from samples that gave the highest level of secondary metabolites were investigated for their antimicrobial activity.
Ethanolic extract of callus initiated from leaf explants and grown on a medium supplemented with 100mM NaCl, revealed the highest
antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli and to a lesser extent to Pseudomonas aeriginosa and Bacillus ceries.
